Drilling along Signal Mountain Boulevard is going much slower than anticipated, causing only lane to be open on the primary mountain access for at least two weeks more.
TDOT officials said, "The Tennessee Department of Transportation is developing a project for a permanent repair to the slope on U.S. 127/Signal Mountain Boulevard at log mile 15.3 between Balmoral Drive and Sunset Drive. To gather data for the project, TDOT’s Geotechnical Engineering Section has contracted with an on-call consultant to perform drilling operations. The operations began last Tuesday and were expected to take at least three days, with the drill crew working between 9 a.m.
and 3 p.m.
"Unfortunately the drilling on U.S. 127 is not going as quickly as our geotechnical engineers had hoped. During drilling operations, the drill crew hit some unexpected subsurface materials that have caused drilling operations to take much longer than anticipated. Under normal conditions, the drill crew usually completes at least five borings a day. Because of the subsurface conditions in this area and the shortened work days, they are only able to drill at best one hole per day at this site. Because they need to drill a total of 19 borings to be able to gather all necessary information for the permanent repair design, it is going to take more time than originally anticipated.
"In light of this, crews will continue to perform drilling operations on weekdays between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. EDT. Work began today at 9 a.m. EDT, and will continue for approximately two weeks or until the drilling is completed. During the work, it will be necessary to close one lane. Flaggers will assist with traffic control. Traffic traveling up the mountain between the peak times of 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. EDT will be given priority by the flagging crews.
"This work is weather dependent. Drivers who must travel through this area are urged to be patient and to watch for workers and equipment."